Children who were in the federal Head Start program do worse in math and have more problems with social interaction by the third grade than children who were not in the program, according to a large-scale study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Obama administration has recently warned that if the automatic spending adjustments in the sequester occur on March 1, 70,000 children will lose a place in Head Start. Further, in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called for universal pre-school for all children.

What a quagmire. D..ed if you do, D..ed if you don’t. Let’s question Head Start, also, are they giving everyone trophies? Are they teaching communism and not competition? That could be the roots of the problem (pun intended).

Well, this study is hopelessly confounded by lack of controls. Although present economic circumstances were putatively controlled, children going into Head Start tend to be more from one-parent families, parent/parents less educated, fewer good older role models and all the rest. So what you say may be correct.

It could be a good thing to shut down these government provided and paid for daycare centers. Then the baby mommas might need to stay home with their chilerin. You know actually have to learn how to take care of them. Now that could be called Home Start.

7
posted on 02/21/2013 4:05:43 PM PST
by Red_Devil 232
(VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)

Maybe because most of the children in head start are products of single parent homes, steeped in entitlement and “poverty”. Homes where they are shuffled off to daycare for the village to raise, when mom is at home. Maybe because most of the teachers in headstart haven’t even gotten a high school education themselves. Or it could just mean we haven’t thrown enough money in that direction which I am certain Obama and company are readying to do and tie it into the public school system. The cycle continues.

Well, this study is hopelessly confounded by lack of controls. Although present economic circumstances were putatively controlled, children going into Head Start tend to be more from one-parent families, parent/parents less educated, fewer good older role models and all the rest. So what you say may be correct.

Yes. Head Start was designed specifically for poor, black, children of single-parents [though I'm sure that wasn't in the brochure]. They would benefit the most from a program like this.

That they don't benefit wouldn't appear to be any indication that children from better educated families would, either. In reality, you don't need a study for things like this; but I do realize that politics is what it is.

13
posted on 02/21/2013 5:36:38 PM PST
by BfloGuy
(Money, like chocolate on a hot oven, was melting in the pockets of the people.)

Maybe because most of the teachers in headstart havent even gotten a high school education themselves.

That certainly isn't true around here. I was a guardian and the Head Start teacher I knew best had a bachelor's degree. I saw job postings and a community college degree was required. The assistants don't generally have either of those.

Also, to those who say it is a daycare program: again that wasn't the case here. I sat in many times and observed active teaching appropriate for the age group with good resource materials. The kids also learned things like table manners and cleaning up the table and play area. You can say it isn't worth the money but what I saw was good quality. No idea what the programs are like in other areas, especially urban zones.

The head start programs I was familiar with were the ones I had to rate for a child care management agency....and they were exactly what I described. Now that was 15 years ago and they could have changed. I never ranked them well but one positive was it probably was a better environment than where they lived and that was not saying much. :/

Yeah, it could have changed. I think now there are standards for education level attainment nationally.

Here is what I found on the first item of a search:

Teachers must at minimum have an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education (ECE); OR Baccalaureate or Advanced Degree in Early Childhood Education (ECE); OR Associate, Baccalaureate or Advanced Degree in a field related to early childhood education and coursework equivalent to a major relating to early childhood education, with experience teaching preschool-age children. (see below **) Additionally current teachers must have a minimum of 15 hrs of classroom focused training annually (per program year).

Starting in fall 2013, Head Start and Early Head Start lead teachers in community agencies around the city will have to have bachelors degrees in early childhood education. The city expects that 14 percent wont meet the requirement, and could potentially lose their jobs or be demoted.

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.